Latest China Brief Articles
NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS: POPULARITY AND POWER
by Willy Lam Newly elected President Hu Jintao and his allies should take heart from the results of the recently concluded First Session of the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC). Although the Congress is considered a rubberstamp body, the nearly 3,000 deputies did... MORE
TERRORISTS FOR DEMOCRACY, PART II
By Gordon G. Chang "It only takes a small group, and we are that small group," says Peng Ming, the revolutionary. "We don't need the general population, and we don't need the overseas dissidents. All we need is a few hundred determined people." And, in... MORE
NORTH KOREA: A “PROXY” NUCLEAR STATE?
by M. D. Nalapat Despite the hype about nuclear weapons being created in high school laboratories, the reality is that the fabrication of a usable bomb requires a mix of both talent and infrastructure that is available to few states. In terms of purchasing power... MORE
CHINA’S HEALTH CRISIS: SYSTEMIC INCOMPETENCE OR MIDDLE KINGDOM ARROGANCE?
HONG KONG An ugly new strain of atypical pneumonia has medical scientists worldwide working overtime. They are trying to discover why a small but growing number of patients in many countries are now suffering and dying. To date, according to the World Health Organizataion (WHO),... MORE
OSAMA BIN LADEN IN CHINA
Beijing often downplays the size of its Xinjiang problem for fear of exposing the difficulties it faces containing the "cancer of terrorism." Since September 11, 2001, Beijing has been forced to reverse this policy due to repeated terrorist attacks. The most recent of these took... MORE
TERRORISTS FOR DEMOCRACY, PART I
Politics itself is immoral and dirty. We have to use immoral, dirty means to overthrow this regime. Then we can set up a moral and clean regime. --Peng Ming Peng Ming hopes to bring democracy to China, but he does not ask Beijing for the... MORE
NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS MANEUVERS: JIANG ON TOP
Major personnel decisions to be made at the ongoing First Session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) will have fateful consequences for the factional balance within the Chinese Communist Party. Outgoing President Jiang Zemin will have his staying power confirmed through gaining yet another... MORE
EVOLVING GROUND FORCE THREAT TO TAIWAN
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian has a number of sound strategic and political reasons for trying to shift its previous army-dominated defense priorities to a new emphasis on joint-forces approaches that stress missile, air and naval defenses. However, the... MORE
BEIJING: BLOCKADE BUSTER?
By Gordon G. Chang Will Kim Jong Il just slam down the phone on China's president, Jiang Zemin? That's what Beijing wants us to think. "If Kim tells Jiang he is going to test a nuclear weapon unless Jiang gives him more aid, what do... MORE
THE DRAGON IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
In the fall of 1950 the Chinese People's Liberation Army began its invasion and conquest of the Tibet Plateau. Since that time, outside attention has quite properly focused on the suffering of the Tibetan people. A million Tibetans, one person in six, died as a... MORE